Come to Me
by vader-incarnate
Summary: Short vignettes on the nature of the Force: Dark versus Light. Part II: Once upon a time, a lovely woman gave birth to a beautiful child ... she loved him with all the strength of heart ...
1. Part I: Dark

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TITLE: "Come to Me"

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SUMMARY: Vignettes on the nature of the Force. Dark vs. Light.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE(S): This is an odd little piece, but suspend your disbelief for a moment while I takes you on a very strange and different path than you've e'er taken before. Part two is coming soon. Remember to review!

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Part I: Dark   
  
Haven't you ever thought about Me?   
  
Admit it: you have. I know, so don't bother denying. It's only natural, after all; everyone thinks about Me at some point. Sentient beings have always been attracted to mysteries, you humans especially. You may talk and bluster, but the truth of the matter is that, in the dark of night, you're as fearful of the secrets of the shadows as any callow youth. And, somehow, it's that fear that makes Me all the more appealing. You're all the same in the dark.   
  
It still amuses Me to no end that you call Me an "it". Or, failing that, a "he". What manner of thing, what manner of man, could offer what I have, could wield the forces of life and death, could grant you power beyond your wildest imaginings? None, surely, that I know; you find yourself attracted to _Me_, the Dark, the mother of all things. You crawled forth from My womb, and a part of you still longs for the oblivion and comfort that you left behind.   
  
The light is an illusion; you emerged from darkness, and to darkness you will return.   
  
Has it never escaped your attention, the number of males amongst the Sith? Of course you noticed; you just never really thought about it. But it is a rare man indeed who can resist the enticement of _My_ allure, and a rarer one still who can say that he has never strayed from the path of light, just for a moment in My arms. Give him but the smallest sample of My charms, and even the most virtuous will abandon the universe for Me.   
  
Have the Jedi warned you of My seductions? Of how many I have already lured away from their clutches, how many true and noble warriors I have already swayed from the path of righteousness? Of how many of their number I have seduced and tricked and enticed away from the demands of duty, from the call of justice, from the ranks of the Light?   
  
Of course they have. They always do. And, yet, they always find it unnecessary to mention what My sister does to _Her_ lovers. My sister has a strange sense of justice, I'll tell you that much; _Her_ champions, _Her_ lovers have their share of happy times, but She abandons them all to the same fate. Whether She is inclined to let them sacrifice themselves for the good of the _cause_ or if She abandons them to the whimsy of age, leaving them old and gasping in their beds, She forsakes them all for Death. They are all destined to meet the same end, alone and deserted by She to whom they devoted their lives.   
  
Choose _Me_, and _I_ ... I will give you the universe. All I ask for in return is you.   
  
I will give you power. I will give you such strength that the stars will bend to your will, that the galaxy will spin at your command. Such might that the warriors of Light can envy; they will tremble before you, will throw themselves down at your feet. I will give you the stars, the planets, the galaxy, if you will only give me yourself in return.   
  
And ... at night, when no one is watching, I will show you things no mortal has ever seen. I will show you the mysteries for which men trade their lives, their hearts, their souls. I will allow you to see the enigmas of the night, the secrets of the shadow. And, then, I will take you in My arms, and everything else will cease to matter.   
  
You crave Me; you know it, deep within your bones. You lust for the mysteries of the dark and the night, crave the sensuality of My secrets, long to plunge head-first into the caverns of My hidden depths. You want Me, you ache for Me in a way you cannot fully comprehend. You hunger for the darkness; your inner demon howls for release in the blissful oblivion of My touch.   
  
Think about it for a while, if you like. But we both know whom you'll choose in the end. You will come of your own free will, and you will come with a smile; all the universe longs for Me, in their most secret hearts, and you will laugh as you come into My arms, never to leave My embrace.   
  
Come to Me; I will give you it all. 


	2. Part II: Light

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Part II: Light   
  
Let Me tell you a story.   
  
It begins, like so many of your stories, with once upon a time -- though, it should be said, "once upon a time" for _you_, not _Me_. Because, if there is one thing I have in common with My sister, it is the immutability of nature that comes with time and age. Nothing is truly immortal ... except, perhaps, for the two of us, Dark and Light. Eternal opposites, watching over an every changing galaxy ... but that's a story for another day.   
  
Once upon a time, a lovely woman gave birth to a beautiful child. The child, to the mother, was the most precious thing in all the universe; she loved him with all the strength of her being, with all the depths of her heart. She has memorized the contours of his face, the angles and curves that make up his soft little body. She has caressed the soft fuzz of his head more times than she can count but still rejoices in each little breath he takes, every little noise he makes.   
  
She would willingly give her own life for him, and, as he grows up, forfeits many little things for him, things he will never know about, things he will never question. Because what is a pair of jeweled earrings in comparison to the well-being of her little child? What are a few things sacrificed, if her child will be the happier for it?   
  
She loves him, and it will be forever.   
  
She watches him grow up. She is there to catch him when he falls and help him get up again when he is ready. She bandages his hurts, kisses his injuries, laughs with him in his joy, cries with him when he sorrows. She is there to take pride in his success, to comfort him in his failures, to offer help and support and guidance and whatever else he needs, whenever he needs it. And though she may sometimes be exasperated with him, sometimes angry with him, she is always there to protect him from the whims of the world.   
  
She struggles to teach him about the universe: about what is right and what is wrong, about what he can or cannot or should or should not do. And, sometimes, he learns the lesson well. But, at other times, he digs in his heels with all the recalcitrance that a child can muster, and refuses to learn. She frowns at him, cajoles him, tries to make him learn his lessons, because she loves him enough to know that this will be important for his life. And so, eventually, he rolls his eyes and consents; he learns his lessons, but whether or not he will use them is another matter entirely.   
  
And, for a very long time, that is enough.   
  
But, as he grows, she learns something about herself as well: she finds that she loves him enough to let him choose his own destiny. She knows that he will not always be the child that emerged from her womb, that he will grow and change and mature. She knows that every little boy wants to get away from his mother and, one day, her boy will be no different.   
  
And so the day comes. Her little boy strays from his mother, strays away from the lessons she has taught him. He strays to the dubious pleasures of the flesh, forsaking the nourishment of his heart and soul. Indeed, he begins to lose those as well: he surrenders himself to pleasure and chaos, reveling in the oblivion of drunken bliss. He forfeits the comforts of home and hearth for an orgy of the senses: rapture and delight and ecstasy, they are his mistresses now, and he willingly forsakes the solace of his mother's arms.   
  
But she loves him. Her door is open, and she awaits his return.   
  
My sister lies with the truth. It is one of Her many charms, and no doubt one of the many things that lure so many of My children into Her arms. Yet, all the same, Her version of the truth leaves much to be desired.   
  
She will give you power. But the power She gives has a mind of its own. She gives it freely, generously, but the recipients of her favors are not always in control of their gifts. Eventually, the line between that power and the one who receives it becomes blurred indeed; it will not be you controlling your actions, though you may think it. You will be a captive, a slave, and you will still exult, oblivious, even amidst in the horrors of your prison.   
  
She will keep you from Death. But She will also keep you from Life; there is a difference between being _alive_ and simply _existing_. She will grant you existence, long and tortured and unending, but never a true life of your own. Eventually, you will long for Death to take you, in any way He will ... and She will never grant you that comfort. You will exist, long past the time you are meant to be called, and you will wish for Death a thousand times and again.   
  
She will show you the mysteries of the universe. But seeing them will be a cold comfort indeed without a home to return to. You will long for knowledge but never have enough. You will wander with Her across the galaxy, across the universe, always looking for a place to set down roots ... and never find it. You will be a wanderer for all your days, restless and weary, unable to stop, unable to rest, with your feet always carrying you onward. You will be tired, haggard, drained, but you will never find what it is that you seek, though you look for all the days of your existence.   
  
She will give you ecstasy. But it is a dubious joy indeed when Her cold arms take you into the oblivion of Her embrace. Because She can never give you what you really seek; Her caresses will be passionate, but it will be the passion of lust, of want. Of cold malice and colder hatred, of comfortless nights in a joyless bed. Because pleasure is nothing without the emotion that goes with it.   
  
Because ... though She offers you the universe, She can never give you any of those things that I always give freely. She can offer you power and knowledge and pleasure, but She can never give you tranquillity, comfort, healing, solace, warmth ...   
  
Love.   
  
Come to Me, child; My door is open.   
  
_Finis_


End file.
